We have a lot of questions and concerns about lead paint, so we turned to Corinne Schiff, the deputy commissioner of environmental health for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Her responses have been condensed.

How do I know if my building has lead paint?

City law presumes that any building built before 1960 has lead paint. And the reason for that presumption is that it was in 1960 that the New York City Board of Health prohibited lead paint for interior use.

Why is the lead paint situation in public housing units so bad?

That’s actually not true. Looking at the city over all, the rates of elevated blood lead levels are actually higher for children in private housing than those in public housing.

Is my landlord required to fix lead paint hazards?

What the law says is that for any building before 1960, the landlord has to do an annual survey to find out if there is a child under age 6 in the apartment. If there is, then the landlord has to make an inspection to see if there is peeling paint. Throughout the year, tenants can tell their landlord or call 311 if they have peeling, chipped or cracked paint.

What should I do if I think my building has lead paint?

If you have a young child under age 6, make sure that you’re getting their blood tested for lead. New York State requires blood lead testing at ages 1 and 2, and requires doctors to assess for risk up to age 6.

The next thing New Yorkers should do is fill out that annual notice that comes from landlords.

If you do not have a child under the age of 6 and if your paint is intact, then there is not really a risk for hazards from lead paint. But if people are still concerned, they should talk to their health care provider.

Weather

Today’s high is a milder 84. There won’t be much in the way of cloud cover, so expect it to be hotter on sun-soaked streets.

Tonight, temperatures will cool to a low of 67.

In the News

• In a shrine on the sixth floor of a Manhattan office building, a photo of a Buddhist Sakyong (or king, in Tibetan) hangs above the altar. That man has stepped down as the head of one of the largest Buddhist organizations in the West amid allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation. [New York Times]

Image

A photo of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, the leader of Shambhala International.CreditGabriella Angotti-Jones/The New York Times

• After five years, the hunt for a home for New York City Football Club has turned back to where it started: the Bronx. [New York Times]

• Challengers to former members of the Independent Democratic Conference, which worked with Republicans to control the New York Senate, are gaining steam. [New York Times]

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s surprise victory as a write-in candidate for the Reform Party in a district where she wasn’t running (she declined the nomination) underscores the complex world of third-party politics in the state. [New York Times]

• Did Mayor Bill de Blasio cross the border illegally? What started as a photo op along the Texas-Mexico border could have strayed into law-breaking. [New York Times]

Image

During a trip to visit shelters for separated families at the border in Texas last month, Mayor Bill de Blasio and an entourage may have themselves crossed the border illegally.CreditMatt York/Associated Press

• A handful of families separated at the border were reunited in New York, though thousands still remain apart. [New York Times]

• Insults flew in the closing arguments of the corruption retrial of Dean G. Skelos, the former State Senate majority leader. [New York Times]

• An array of criminal justice advocates has joined forces to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider the doctrine of qualified immunity. [New York Times]

• A new report by WNYC has found that county governments in New Jersey have collected more than $ 6 million a month from federal immigration officials to detain immigrants in their county jails. [WNYC]

• State health officials are not yet signing off on placards that ban fishing in the Gowanus Canal because they say there is a lack of data on how toxic substances in the canal affect aquatic life. [The Brooklyn Paper]

• Some counties in New Jersey have found mosquito samples that tested positive for the West Nile virus. [NJ.com]

And Finally …

Image

Does this bring back fond memories?CreditKarsten Moran for The New York Times

The United States Open is almost here — matches begin on Aug. 27.

The New York Times is planning a special section in celebration of two large milestones for the tennis tournament: the 50th anniversary of the competition in the Open era and the 40th year that the tournament will be at the U.S.T.A. National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens.

As we look back, we’d like to hear about your favorite moments from the U.S. Open.

What has been your favorite celebrity run-in? Were you ever a ball boy or a ball girl? Were you in the stands during Jimmy Connors’s unforgettable 1991 run?

SmellGists.com, is a subsidiary of SPREADSHEET TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED an IT Firm based in Lagos, Nigeria with a vision to help individual achieve their goals at ease and reaching their targeted audience promptly.